Gauri Chhabra
Revival of Humanities
The education landscape has witnessed a tectonic shift over the past few years. The 1980’s and 90’s saw a paradigm shift from knowledge sharing to problem solving and sciences and logic came to the forefront. This resulted in the perceived receding educational value and dwindling student interest in Humanities furthering the decline in the number of bachelor’s degrees in disciplines such as language, history, and the classics so much so that humanities was typically pushed right to the margins.However, the financial Tsunami that hit the world economy in 2009 revived their greater-than-ever relevance – for habits of critical thinking, interpretation, and analysis that are in turn gateways to ethical choice. Today, more and more students are opting for Humanities as a stream and gone are those days when we used to feel that the sciences are the only option for the students who wish to make their mark.
Political Science- the current scenario
The most popular courses this year are humanities courses, leaving behind the traditional favorites such as commerce and economics.According to a news website, Miranda House principal Pratibha Jolly has said seats in Political Science and History (Honors) are filling up fast and there is a possibility that these courses might not have a second cut-off list. Political Science has been the favorite among students who wish to take up Law as a career or those who intend to go in for the UPSC While choosing a career and going through the dilemma of course over college, students have preferred to choose college over course. LSR ‘s cut off for political science shot to 97% this year from 95.25% last year. At 97%, the cut-off for political science at the college is almost at par with the other popular DU course, BComhonours which was 97.5%.
What will you study in Political Science?
Political Science is the study of constitution and different political aspects. As a student of political Science you would be required to study the governmental, non- governmental systems and operations. You would also study the workings of trade unions, corporations or other forms of groups that need not be ‘political’ but have similar complexities of governmental procedures. Besides, you will study international relations, political theories, history, political economy, foreign policies, public administration, Federation, Information Technology and a number of other academic fields.
Skill set
The ability to take criticism, along with skills to solve problems, make decisions, manage teams and the time effectively are also some of the essential traits. Another important aspect is the ability to manage crisis and being emotionally stable and mature.Younot only need to have excellent reasoning and analytical skills, but also fluid communication skills, both oral and written. Furthermore, you would acquire skills in data analysis and data mining.A Bachelor’s degree would lead you to becoming a research assistant. A Master’s Degree and a Ph.D would lead you to teaching. You can also appear for Civil Service Examinations like UPSC, SSC and State Public Service Commission & Joint Public Service Commission (JPSC) or opt for NET or SLET.
Career Opportunities
As a political science major, you would be have a multitude of career options ingovernment administration, politics and campaigns, public policy, non-profit organizations, international relations, business and journalism open before you. It would also prepare you to pursue graduate programs in business, law or diplomacy.
Campaigning
Cyclical events like elections bring with them a lot of excitement and complexities. You can campaign for a political party initially and get a paid position later. Many political parties are using the services of social media managers to campaign and keep a track of their social and political footprint. You can dovetail your experience in IT by creating a perceptual mindspace in the voter’s mind.You can also craft a career in social work, human rights, social or political research and urbanplanning.
Politics
With elections just being over, and politics becoming more and more complex, youngsters are joining politics as a career. Many law students join political parties for their summer internships. You can use your tools of data analysis and market research to conduct surveys to find out people’s opinion on political issues; or use matter to analyze election results, interview relevant individuals and scrutinize available documentation. Some even attend legal proceedings and observe public events. Besides, you could prepare reports anddocumentsafter identifying, researching, analyzing public issues.If you have a flair for writing, you would be writing articles for publications in the newspapers, magazines and journals and advising party high ups on strategic issues.
Teaching and Research
Teaching and research are almost synonymous with each other. You can get a teaching assignment in intermediate colleges, Degree College, or at university graduate departments and management institutes. Many teaching positions, particularly in the universities, Information Technology Institutes, Management institutions require research activities.
Your common topics of research wouldbe relations between India and other countries, the international institutions like the UNO, the political life of nations, and the decisions of the Legislature, Executive and the Judiciary.
You may also use your research and analysis skills in Central, State and local government. You could be an administrator, manager or developer of a program, and engaged in policy analysis or problem-solving. At the state level, you would be engaged in urban planning, health planning and in criminal justice systems using your skills in survey and evaluation research and specialization in fields as aging, criminal justice, demography. This can help you predict the trend of a particular Government policy and its effect on the general population.
You might also cooperate with full time researchers and apply the knowledge of Political Science. Of course these problems would vary depending upon the particular employment setting- they might involve housing, transportation, education, community relations, corporate hiring strategies, health, law enforcement, or other major societal concerns.
Public Relations and media
You can also opt for print, television, or radio journalism, when you can apply your understanding of political systems to create reports about consent events. You might cover elections, conduct interviews, or attend press conferences where you can declaim on strategic topics of national and international significance.However, you need to be objective in your approach and present your stories and reports in a manner that reflects factual information, rather than opinions.
Management
You can couple your political Science degree with an MBA and specialize in Human Resource Management.You would be an expert in increasing productivity, work with physically challenged, and women in the work force, bring about Assistive Technology and also work on improving the corporate culture, group dynamics and organizational development. Your unique skills wouldsolve a wide range of business problems and improve the ROI besides promoting a rich culture of power dynamics and group thinking that leads to synergy.You can use statistical tools to analyze the demographics, do a trend analysis and plan for the future; deal with organizational change and growth using training techniques and organizational and competitive analysis; and increase synergy through team coherence in case of mergers and acquisitions.
The Road Ahead
Politics has such a large surface area that it is all pervasive and can be traced to education, jobs, housing, corporate world and cross cultural interactions between nations and societies. It moves from introspection and self – reflection to a macro level where you are concerned with not only how individuals interact but also how nations interact.If you are ready to ride on the crest of the dynamic world of politics, foreign affairs, and public policy, healthcare, and immigration – pick up the subject of perennial interest, Political science.
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